There’s only way to experience the Canal du Midi History, culture and gastronomy come together in sumptuous style when cruising down this famous French waterway Built in the 17th century, the Canal du Midi stretches from Toulouse to the Mediterranean coast When I was about eight, my parents took me and my sister on a canal boat from Leamington Spa to Stratford-upon-Avon. It rained constantly, the catering was 1970s at its worst, we went for a walk in a field by the canal and came back with the turn-ups of our flares heaving with slugs, and the cat died while we were away.